Usa made products are painful

[torqu]

How many people are running a power visions or race tuner. How many people buy Harley aftermarket parts. How many buy the Middle East gas you put in your bike. Come on really. Unless you watch it get made, you just dont know where the hell its coming from. Harley show cases the chinese and taiwan made part in the dealerships everyday,and hard working Americans buy em. Its different than it was 20 years ago or maybe its not. Without the internet and all these news stations the average american wouldnt know the difference.

[Louisville Joe]

I for one do try to buy products made in the USA. And that's getting harder to do. But depending on the product I am shopping for, sometimes I do have a choice and, all things being equal, I will buy the American made product. But things aren't always equal. And my bottom line is that, as a consumer, I want the best value. If a product is made outside the USA and the quality is better, or if quality appears the same but the foreign product saves me a significant percentage then I will buy the foreign made product and don't feel guilty about it. I will try to buy American, but America must compete in this world economy. If the price of a product is jacked up above a comparable foreign made product then the loss of my purchase may be directly related to the factor(s) that caused the American product to be so much higher and those reasons can be many (inflated wages gained by their union, taxes, etc.)

Look at our auto industry as a prime example (and there are other examples as well--I'm not picking on the auto folks). Years ago those people just about priced themselves out of business and that allowed the foreign auto makers to gain significant inroads into auto sales here. The doped up assembly line worker who didn't give a s*** about any quality control put in his shift and pulled down a good living and we, as consumers, paid him waaaaay more than he was worth and we also paid the price(s) for shoddy vehicles (no offense meant to those auto workers who do care about doing a good job). How many years did that go on before the auto makers figured out they had to clean up their act if they wanted to stay competitive?

So, American workers, I would like to buy your products, but you must be competitive and earn my business. I will not subsidize you simply because you are American. My family has better things to do with our money than to pay extra for something.

Oh, and someone mentioned Levis no longer being made here. I wasn't aware of that but I stopped buying Levi jeans long ago after I saw a list on the NRA website that Levi Strauss & Co is a financial supporter of anti-gun organizations.

Just my $.02 worth,

Louisville Joe

[pargenz]

Originally Posted by jetfuel

/snip/ I don't agree at all that there aren't enough manufacturing jobs to go around for this country. My town has many empty plants and wharehouses. The capacity is here, the jobs left. The companies moved the jobs offshore.

The other side of that is that every business exists to make a profit. If you can't make it, you close the doors. If your widgets cost more than what the other widgets cost, no one will buy them.

Then there's the price/wage component.
We all want to pay as little as possible yet earn as much as possible. Not a recipe for a thriving manufacturing economy.

I buy American-made products whenever possible. And I try to shop locally, too. But, I do understand the dynamics of a world economy.

[pargenz]

Originally Posted by blackripley

I do my best to buy domestic, I also try to buy quality. Some times it's just hard to find what I need.

It seems that we (Americans) have chosen to give up on quality for cheep disposable stuff. My house if full of crap that was cheep and used one or two times and it gets stuffed away some where.

Some how German manages export more then it's imports.

True. Just look at how many Walmarts there are. People flock to low prices, gladly giving up quality.

As to Germany, their location makes them an ideal transport hub in Europe. They are the world's leader in exports and have a hefty trade surplus (16 billion euros), compared to our deficit of 44 billion dollars.

[Wooden Nickel]

I have some Redwing Boots that I use mostly for riding. Looking at Redwings web site this is what you can do: They have this country of origin listing and you can check made in the USA and it will show you just those. I'm happy to anounce that mine are 100% made in the USA. What a list, eh.

Country Of Origin
Made in USA
Made in USA with Imported Materials
Assembled in the USA with Imported Components
Made in China

[T-BO 399]

http://www.labor411.org
this is a web site I have been using lately.

[HarleyLance]

Originally Posted by HDJaco

My buddy goes to China for business and comes back with a shirt from Hong Kong Harley-Davidson. It was made in the USA! Yet I go to my local Red Wing shoe store to buy the same boots I have been buying for 30 years and they are now made in China...

Wow, there's a turnaround! I guess we're not the only ones that want made is USA goods!

[mmcmsw]

I hear you. I used to buy the "Walter" boot from HD. It was made in the US by wolverine. They discontinued it, because they didn't sell at over $250 a pair.

I purchased Danner Rain forest because they are union made in Portland Oregon, they are water proof and have a little US Flag tag sewn at the top. They are expensive, but worth keeping an Oregonian employed.

If anyone is interested in the "Walter" boot, last time I was in Dubuque HD, they had 4 pair on the clearance rack for around $180.

[Quicksand]

Originally Posted by pargenz

There simply aren't enough manufacturing jobs to employ a country of our size.

True enough, but after losing over 7 million manufacturing jobs they have slowly started returning, gaining around 200k the last few years. The only problem is they aren't the jobs they once were. A few thousand are coming back to Louisville, at the two Ford plants and at General Electric. Ford jobs that left paying $33 dollars an hour are coming back paying $14

[Andyman]

If anyone knows of a goretex lined, rubber sole western style (aka "cowboy") riding boot made in the USA please PM me. Can't find anything, even here in Texas. I could have some customs made but that's a last resort.